Workplace Training and Assessment qualifications

As you may be aware, the club relies on qualified traffic controllers to assist in running races. It's been a while since the previous course, the delay being due to a lack of people qualified with a Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment. These people are required to train others in the same qualification in the ACT.

If you have a Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment and are interested in assisting in the running of a traffic controller course please identify yourself to me.

Race Directors for 2017

The club’s ability to conduct racing for the benefit of the member’s comes down to handful of Race Director’s who donate their time to ensuring the racing is held in safe conditions and in the spirit of the club’s racing etiquette. But we always would like to be able to add more members to our Race Director ranks so as to share the workload. So we are on the lookout for any club member’s who are interested in becoming a Race Director in 2017. Race Directing is not a hard task and means just a few hours of your time when you need to direct a race, the bonus is that you’ll receive a healthy 20 point addition to your season points score which may prove the difference if you’re racing to win overall season honours.

If you’re interested in throwing your hat into the ring for 2017 and becoming a race director all you need to do is to emailrace.committee@actvets.ccand register your interest or approach one of the club officials at the crits on a Tuesday night.

A short course will be run to introduce new Race Directors to the process prior to your first race and that a Qualified Referee would be assisting you through the process.

RACE REPORTS:

Stromlo – 29th November

A Grade

Maybe it was the earlier start time for A grade which kept the numbers to a lower 19 starters. From the get go in A what I can only describe as the dream team of vets cycling made a break with Ed Pellegrino, Mark Harris, Ben Morrison and Jason Chalker moving out on lap 2 of the race. If you wanted to witness a 40 min effort where all riders worked together to keep the break intact then this was your day. They were never caught and rode at a pace where once they had consolidated their lead they didn’t make or lose time. Very smart riding! It came down to a tactical final lap sprint with Ben Morrison again showing he is the guy to beat in A ahead of Mark Harris and Jason Chalker in 3rd. Also don’t forget Ed Pellegrino who was No 4 of the steam train who worked all night for the break.

B Grade

30 riders at the start line and another huge B grade turnout. Surely there was going to be some early attacks to split such a large group up? But no, the B grades decided that this race was going to be fairly pedestrian and decided to ride together as a group for all of the race. This was audibly obvious 21 mins into the race when 2 riders made a break and as the main peloton came past the finish line the words “Don’t go too hard” was overheard. It ended up in a downhill mass sprint finish with about 5 riders hitting the line at once. After some careful consideration by the officials 1st place was given to David Mullens ahead of Andrew Murrell and Craig Tozer.

C Grade

Only 10 riders lined up for the start of C grade. The tandem of Liny Hou and Stephen Isbel decided an early xmas present was due for C Grade. That is a xmas present of pain! Early attacks by the tandem fractured C Grade pretty quickly. At the halfway mark there was a break of 3 riders with the tandem hovering behind ready to bite again. However the 3 others were now well aware of the threat posed by the tandem and worked smart to ensure there were no further attacks. In the end Kevin Wells took home a fine win just ahead of the Tandem of Lindy and Stephen with Ben Healy in 3rd place.

D Grade

Another great turnout of 27 riders for D grade, but once again they were all content to hold hands for the entire race with no attacks. The only promising attack began with 1.5 laps to go with a lone rider deciding to scurry for the finish line only to be gobbled up and spat out the back with half a lap to go, this big D grade were not having a bar of any attack and wanted another mass sprint finish which they duly got. Once again the officials were not troubled by the racing and trying to keep track of the breaks and counter attacks, they were only troubled by trying to slow-mo down the finish and work out who crossed the line first in amongst the 13 riders who hit the line almost simultaneously. This time Radi Kovacevic was determined the winner ahead of Troy Cassell and Phil Martin.

E Grade

First to line up for E Grade was the newly promoted Ian Morton who decided self-promotion was the only honorable thing to do after blitzing F grade for the last few weeks. 12 riders lined up with only 1 DNF at the end. With 12 mins to go Michael Golding went on the attack and this started to split the group up. But he was reeled in and re-joined the swarming pack. This was the only enterprising attack that I saw come from E grade and once again it came down to a bunch sprint. Tony Sheehan look line honours ahead of James Curran and Phil Anderson.

F Grade

8 riders F joined by 3 riders in G for the last event of the night. With the sun beginning it’s descent behind Mount Stromlo it was agreed to cut the race a tad shorter to avoid finishing in the dark. E and F grade quickly sorted themselves out a few laps in. As per the other races of the night (Bar A Grade), F Grade rode close and tight together all race and once again tested the eyes of the finish line officials with a bunch sprint finish. Robert Miller took out 1st place just ahead of Dennis Puniard with Raphaela Sheehan in 3rd place.

G Grade

It was the B1 & B2 show with Bernie and Bruce dropping Heather midway through the race to setup a tactical sprint finish. So tactical was it that I reckon they planned on hitting the line exactly together to once again test us at the finish line. In the end we gave it to Bruce by a “Bee’s private part”, which I’m led to believe is somewhere between a flea’s private part and a ant’s private part.

Many Thanks to Paul Ledbrook who called me up on Tuesday afternoon and offered to help as a marshal. It’s always helpful to have a 2nd helper at these events especially tonight with so may close finishes. Kim Malcolm did a great job managing the sign-on sheets and unlocking the gates and Tom Roberts the sports med for ensuring help was on hand in case of any accidents which fortunately was not required on the night.

Ben Davis
Race Referee

Narrabundah Track Racing – 30rd November

Session 8 for the track racing season attracted 17 riders. Weather conditions were very good. There was a little cloud and a few drops of rain around on the day. However, by race time, it was quite hot with a mild headwind in the back straight. Attendance was slightly down, but compensated by the enthusiasm of the competitors who showed up.

It is obvious that riders have better form, as the season progresses. The pace in the 10-lap A grade scratch race was hot from the start. No one dared venture off the front until lap 9 when Michael Langdon hauled off with Kerry Knowler in tow. The pair gapped the field by 6-8 metres before Steve Jones sensed the danger and accelerated round the pack, in pursuit. Steve managed to haul in Kerry just before the finish. Michael had made a perfectly timed attack and held on for a fine win.

The 10-lap B grade scratch race also settled into a solid pace. When Graeme O’Neill took the lead on Lap 6, he tried to slow the pace a notch. Tony Beasley took this opportunity to attack. The pack streamed around the lead rider and accelerated into the remaining laps. The furious pace spreadeagled the field. However, Phil Anderson stuck to Tony’s wheel and overhauled him on the bell lap to take the win. Tony Beasley held second place followed by Ross Scutts in third.

The next event was a 2-lap handicap. In A grade, Kerry Knowler lead out from a good handicap and made it clear to the rest of the pack that hard work was needed to haul her in. Michael Langdon put in a big effort from the scratch mark but could not advance to better than mid field. Ben Robey and Tony O’Connor had good rides from mid field to be among the final contenders. At the finish, Kerry Knowler held on for a good win with Ben Robey and Tony O’Connor taking the second and third placing.

The B grade handicap saw close racing and a big effort from all riders. Riders coalesced into a loose group on lap 2 and streamed past the leader in the final bend. Phil Anderson was on form and took his second win for the evening. Phil Coulton had a fine ride to hold second place from Tony Beasley in third.

The handicaps were followed by a 12 lap points race with two intermediate sprints and a final sprint for double points. In A Grade John-Paul DeSousa took the initiative on the first sprint. John-Paul gapped the field handily. However, Steve Jones made a late pursuit and just overhauled JP on the line. The second sprint saw Steve Jones, Michael Langdon and Alec Millett take the points in that order. As the final sprint approached, Kerry Knowler took off and established an unbeatable lead. Steve Jones and Michel Langdon had to be satisfied with second and third on the line. The overall points result saw Steve Jones take first placing followed by Michael Langdon / Kerry Knowler (equal points) and Alec Millett.

In B Grade, the Phil Coulton took the initiative on the first sprint. However, he was run down by Tony Beasley, who took maximum points. In the second sprint, Phil Anderson was too strong for the field. As the final sprint approached Ross Scutts took off and held a handy lead right to the finish. Tony Beasley and Phil Anderson followed over the line in that order. The overall points result saw Tony Beasley take first placing followed by Ross Scutts and Phil Anderson respectively.

There were seven pursuit riders on each team for the all-in Italian Pursuit. The pursuit was a scorcher. Steve Jones, anchoring Team 1, reported a speed reading over 50 km/hr on the lead out lap by Phil Coulton. The pace did not slacken after that. Both team were evenly matched and the result looked close. A brilliant lap by Ben Robey gained a few metres advantage for Team 2. Alec Millett and Michael Langdon were not going to surrender that advantage. They put in fine laps to book a win for Team 2.

Mt McDonald Time Trial – 4th December

With a couple of major interstate events at Bright and L'Etape competing for rider's attention it was a small turnout for the annual Mt McDonald Time Trial. 18 riders took advantage of the great weather conditions to test their legs against the hill.

The only major challenge on the day was to roll a dead wombat off the road (I think there should be bonus points for road-kill wrangling).

With A, B and G Grades only managing a single competitor each, it was a race against personal best times for Christophe Barberet, Seymour Savell-Boss and Bernie Crowe. C Grade had 6 competitors with Ian Preston taking a 38 second victory over Christopher Kon with Warwick Wilson a further 8 seconds back. 7 E Graders took to the course with Kirsti McVay a narrow 6 seconds ahead of Terry Merrigan and Tony Sheehan 18 seconds further back. Ross Scutts took a 59 second victory over Des Brown in D Grade.

Many thanks to the ATCs, Ian Albrey and Lindsay Graham for ensuring a safe start, helpers James Curran at the start and Jan Koehler at the finish and Graham Hendrie for bringing the van and also running the timing for the race.